On Thursday, 19 October 2023, the Municipality of Pavia, the Chamber of Commerce of Pavia, and the European Association of the Via Francigena ways (EAVF) are organizing the “Conference on Walking and Sustainable Tourism” at the Aula Magna of the Ghislieri College in Pavia, with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo.
The event is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Lombardy Region and the University of Pavia.
A particular focus is planned on the Via Francigena, a Council of Europe Cultural Route since 1994, that represents the main Italian artery of slow tourism. Tens of thousands of pilgrims and cultural tourists visit it every year, coming from over 40 countries.
This gave rise to the idea of organizing the Conference in the city of Pavia, which is crossed by the Via Francigena and numerus paths and has been recognized as the ‘crossroads of Europe’ since 2012. The event proposes to deepen, with the intervention of the institutional, private and associative world, the state of the art of planning and strategies for the future, also given the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the European certification of the Via Francigena (2024) and the Jubilee 2025.
The event will be divided into sessions. In the morning, from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., the theme will be the value of the paths as a boost to territorial development, starting from the activities promoted by the Italian Ministries of Tourism and Culture. The Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè is scheduled to speak.
In the afternoon, from 3.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., the focus will be on the themes of hospitality, accessibility and routes, and mobility.
On 20.10.2023, again at the Aula Magna of the Ghislieri College (Piazza Ghislieri 4), the autumn session of the EAVF General Assembly is scheduled, intended for Members and Friend Associations, but also open to those who wish to follow the work.
The event will be held in Italian.
Discover the Programme of the Conference (link pdf).
To register for the Conference, please fill in the following form (link).
